UPS driver arrested in alleged package scheme

(New York - WABC, February 16, 2007) (WABC) -- His job was to deliver packages to waiting customers. But one man is accused of selling those packages right off the back of his delivery truck.

And now, police believe there are several other UPS deliverymen involved in the same scheme.

Eyewitness News reporter NJ Burkett has the story.

The scope of the scheme is still not clear late Friday night. But what we do know is that one UPS driver is in custody at the 71st Precinct in Brooklyn. Eyewitness News has learned that dozens of cell phones have been seized, and this investigation is not over.

Police officers guarded the apartment of the suspected ringleader on Friday night. The man may be the mastermind of an elaborate scheme to steal parcels from UPS delivery trucks.

Investigators say the parcels contained T-Mobile cell phones known as Sidekicks. Police believe they were ordered with stolen credit card numbers, then intercepted in a series of prearranged visits with UPS drivers who were accomplices in the scheme.

At least one driver is in custody after police say he parked on a Brooklyn street corner, intending to sell eight cell phones to the suspected ring leader -- sophisticated $500 dollar devices for which the UPS driver would allegedly be paid less than $50 dollars each.

Police say it was UPS internal security that actually cracked this case. The company could not be reached for comment.

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